Earlier today, former New York City Police Officer Michael Daragjati was sentenced to nine months of imprisonment for violating the civil rights of an African-American man by falsely charging him with a crime, and a consecutive sentence of 48 months for threatening and assaulting another man whom Daragjati thought had stolen his snowplow equipment. The sentencing proceeding took place before United States District Judge William F. Kuntz, II.

The sentence was announced by Loretta E. Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; Janice K. Fedarcyk, Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office; and Raymond W. Kelly, Commissioner, New York City Police Department.

Daragjati was arrested on October 17, 2011 and has remained in custody since then. On January 24, 2012, Daragjati pleaded guilty to extortion and willfully violating the civil rights of the African-American victim.

As detailed in the sentencing letter filed by the government on June 20, 2012, on April 15, 2011, Daragjati falsely arrested an African-American man in Staten Island and fabricated charges against him, keeping the victim in jail for nearly two days. Soon after the incident, Daragjati was recorded telling a friend on the telephone that he had just “fried another n——-.” As also detailed in the government’s sentencing letter, on March 4, 2011, Daragjati and a group of associates assaulted and threatened a man in Staten Island in retaliation for the victim allegedly stealing Daragjati’s snowplow equipment. Daragjati later threatened to commit further acts of violence against the second victim if he went to the authorities.

“The sentence imposed today reflects the seriousness of the crimes committed by a former police officer—false arrest and imprisonment motivated by racial animus and engaging in vigilante justice. Crimes such as these erode the public’s confidence in our system of justice and will be met by the full resources of this office,” stated United States Attorney Lynch. Ms. Lynch expressed her grateful appreciation to the FBI and the NYPD Internal Affairs Bureau, the agencies responsible for leading the government’s investigation, and thanked the Richmond County District Attorney’s Office for its assistance.

The government’s case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Paul Tuchmann.